High prevalence of trypanosomes in European badgers detected using ITS-PCR.

BACKGROUND: Wildlife can be important sources and reservoirs for pathogens. Trypanosome infections are common in many mammalian species, and are pathogenic in some. Molecular detection tools were used to measure trypanosome prevalence in a well-studied population of wild European badgers (Meles meles). FINDINGS: A nested ITS-PCR system, that targeted the ribosomal RNA gene locus, has been widely used to detect pathogenic human and animal trypanosomes in domestic animals in Africa and some wildlife hosts. Samples from a long-term DEFRA funded capture-mark-recapture study of wild badgers at Woodchester Park (Gloucestershire, SW England) were investigated for trypanosome prevalence. A total of 82 badger blood samples were examined by nested ITS-PCR. Twenty-nine of the samples were found to be positive for trypanosomes giving a prevalence of 35.4 % (25.9 % - 46.2 %; 95 % CI). Infection was not found to be linked to badger condition, sex or age. Analysis of DNA sequence data showed the badgers to be infected with Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) pestanai and phylogenetic analysis showed the Woodchester badger trypanosomes and T. pestanai to cluster in the Megatrypanum clade. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the ITS Nested PCR is an effective tool for diagnosing trypanosome infection in badgers and suggests that it could be widely used in wildlife species with unknown trypanosomes or mixed infections. The relatively high prevalence observed in these badgers raises the possibility that a significant proportion of UK badgers are naturally infected with trypanosomes

Erratum to : Analysis of the mitochondrial maxicircle of Trypanosoma lewisi, a neglected human pathogen

BACKGROUND The haemoflagellate Trypanosoma lewisi is a kinetoplastid parasite which, as it has been recently reported to cause human disease, deserves increased attention. Characteristic features of all kinetoplastid flagellates are a uniquely structured mitochondrial DNA or kinetoplast, comprised of a network of catenated DNA circles, and RNA editing of mitochondrial transcripts. The aim of this study was to describe the kinetoplast DNA of T. lewisi. METHODS/RESULTS In this study, purified kinetoplast DNA from T. lewisi was sequenced using high-throughput sequencing in combination with sequencing of PCR amplicons. This allowed the assembly of the T. lewisi kinetoplast maxicircle DNA, which is a homologue of the mitochondrial genome in other eukaryotes. The assembly of 23,745 bp comprises the non-coding and coding regions. Comparative analysis of the maxicircle sequence of T. lewisi with Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma rangeli, Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania tarentolae revealed that it shares 78 %, 77 %, 74 % and 66 % sequence identity with these parasites, respectively. The high GC content in at least 9 maxicircle genes of T. lewisi (ATPase6; NADH dehydrogenase subunits ND3, ND7, ND8 and ND9; G-rich regions GR3 and GR4; cytochrome oxidase subunit COIII and ribosomal protein RPS12) implies that their products may be extensively edited. A detailed analysis of the non-coding region revealed that it contains numerous repeat motifs and palindromes. CONCLUSIONS We have sequenced and comprehensively annotated the kinetoplast maxicircle of T. lewisi. Our analysis reveals that T. lewisi is closely related to T. cruzi and T. brucei, and may share similar RNA editing patterns with them rather than with L. tarentolae. These findings provide novel insight into the biological features of this emerging human pathogen

Assessment of Sealing Potential of Fault-Bounded Hydrocarbon Prospect in Gabo Field, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Sealing potentials of faults are an important exploration risk to consider in the assessment of fault-bounded hydrocarbon prospects. This technique has been used for predicting potential hydrocarbon columns for mitigating risk in exploration and appraisals. Hence, the objective of the paper is to assess the sealing potential of the fault-bounded hydrocarbon prospects of the Gabo Field in the Niger Delta basin using seismic, well-log, and X-ray diffraction data. Three faults were interpreted as normal and syn-depositional faults. The well-log correlation showed that the shale sequence was inter-bedded with sands and showed a good spread with a relative thickness ranging between 12-105m from shallow to intermediate depth intervals. Results of the rock property analysis showed that the volume of shale ranged from 18 – 73.72% with an average of 63.59%. The total porosity ranged from 15.9 – 31.7 (good to excellent) with an average of 16.7 (good) in the shales and 27.2 (very good) in the sand. The effective porosity of the field ranged from 3.58 – 22.71 with an average of 6.028 in the shales and 20.13 in the sand. The estimated pore pressure ranged from 42.13 – 47.62psi with an average of 47.0psi in the shales and 42.8psi in the sand. The results of the X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the predominant minerals were kaolinite, rutile, gypsum, albite, microcline and quartz, which constitute the caprock sequence and the faulted rocks. Results of the sealing potential showed poor sealing in the shale sequence while the fault analysis showed good sealing along the fault planes. These results deduced the sealing uncertainty of the field and may be applied to similar siliciclastic trap configurations in deltaic environments

Open Institute of the African BioGenome Project: Bridging the gap in African biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics

Africa, a continent of 1.3 billion people, had 326 researchers per one million people in 2018 (Schneegans, 2021; UNESCO, 2022), despite the global average for the number of researchers per million people being 1368 (Schneegans, 2021; UNESCO, 2022). Nevertheless, a strong research community is a requirement to advance scientific knowledge and innovation and drive economic growth (Agnew, et al., 2020; Sianes, et al., 2022). This low number of researchers extends to scientific research across Africa and finds resonance with genomic projects such as the African BioGenome Project (Ebenezer, et al., 2022). The African BioGenome project (AfricaBP) plans to sequence 100,000 endemic African species in 10 years (Ebenezer, et al., 2022) with an estimated 203,000 gigabases of DNA sequence. AfricaBP aims to generate these genomes on-the-ground in Africa. However, for AfricaBP to achieve its goals of on-the-ground sequencing and data analysis, there is a need to empower African scientists and institutions to obtain the required skill sets, capacity and infrastructure to generate, analyse, and utilise these sequenced genomes in-country. The Open Institute is the genomics and bioinformatics knowledge exchange programme for the AfricaBP (Figures 1 & 2). It consists of 10 participating institutions including the University of South Africa in South Africa and National Institute of Agricultural Research in Morocco. It aims to: develop biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics curricula targeted at African scientists, promote and develop genomics and bioinformatics tools that will address critical needs relevant to the African terrain such as limited internet access, and advance grassroot knowledge exchange through outreach and public engagement such as quarterly training and workshops

Bridging the gap in African biodiversity genomics and bioinformatics:Open Institute of the African BioGenome Project:

The Open Institute of the African BioGenome Project empowers African scientists and institutions with the skill sets, capacity and infrastructure to advance scientific knowledge and innovation and drive economic growth

THE EFFECT OF CRUDE OIL SPILL ON PLANKTON ABUNDANCE IN SANTA BARBARA RIVER, NEMBE, BAYELSA STATE

Plankton are the main varied group of aquatic organisms that play major roles in the aquatic environment as primary producers. The study focused on the effect of crude oil Spill on Plankton composition in Santa Barbara River, Nembe, Bayelsa State. Samples were collected and preserved in 5% formalin from ten (10) water sampling locations with one serving as control in four replicates. Standard plankton net of 55m mesh size was used for sample collection. Data recovered from the study showed the occurrence of 61 species of plankton belonging to two (2) classes, 8 families and genera. A total of 486 organisms were recovered from the surface water out of which 394 (81.06%) were phytoplankton and 92 (18.93%) were zooplankton. The families of planktons identified were Bacillariophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Xanthophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Dinophyceae, Copepod, and Cladocera. The family Bacillariophyceae had the highest species diversity (144) within WO/SW1 having the highest species richness of (96) which represented (19.75%) of the total plankton population recovered in the study. Sampling station WO/SW2 had a species richness of 64 (13.16%) while BA/SW8 had the lowest species richness of 32 representing (6.58%) of the recovered plankton population in the study. The result shows a decrease in the distribution and abundance of the plankton species in the Santa Barbra River. The results indicate pollution caused by hydrocarbon spillage. There was phytoplankton bloom when compared to zooplankton. The zooplanktons were more sensitive to the hydrocarbon spill than phytoplanktons this is linked to hypoxic nature of surface water following the hydrocarbon spill incident significantly affecting zooplankton abundance and diversity in the Santa Babra River

Developing Students' Divergent Thinking Paradigm Through ICT Tools Application In Teaching Science, Technology And Mathematics (STM)

ABSTRACT The paper was focused to examine Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM

Occurrence of Gas Charged Sediments and Pock Marks in “Semob” Fields Offshore Western Niger Delta: Implications for Offshore Operations

The safe delivery of operations in offshore province is dependent on the availability of high fidelity information of the geological state of the sea floor. Sediments and sedimentary processes determine the sea bed composition and bathymetry. The study was done in the inner shelf environment of Gulf of Guinea, in Niger Delta. The acoustic equipment used is side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler and they work with geophysical principles of sea floor sediments acoustic reflectivity and refraction. The acquisition, processing and interpretation of data reveal the existence of gas charged sediments between the sea bed and the lithified layer(strong seismo stratigraphic layer) and the existence of genetically related depressions with surrounding rings of sand called pock marks which vary between 3 m-10 m in diameter on the sea floor. The gas charged sediments thickness ranges from 20 m-25 m. The areas of the ‘Semob’ fields that have gas charged sediments and pock marks are liable to endanger the installation and safety of subsea facilities, offshore operations and sea going vessels. Therefore, are geohazards areas and should be avoided.</jats:p

Geophysical and Geotechnical Investigations of the Sea Floor Sediments for Offshore Subsea Facility Installation in “EMOBS” Oil Fields, Western Niger Delta Nigeria

The investigation reveals the stratigraphic sub-division of the site within the depth explored. Basically, though at some depths the lithology is similar, they are different sediments as revealed by the laboratory tests. Essentially, the site consists of silty clay on the surface that is soft in consistency and weak in shear strength. However, the consistency and the strength of the clay improve down depth from 14.50m where it becomes soft-firm. At 30.00 m depth, the clay becomes very firm as some shell fragments (mostly calcareous shells of gastropods and mollusks) occurred within it. Below this clay unit at about 45.00 m depth, a dense to very dense Sand unit of about 10.00m -12.00m thick occurs. The sand is poorly to moderately graded.  Below this sand unit at about 57.0m depth, another firm clay unit occurs. This clay unit becomes intercalated with sand at 60.50m and continues to about 62.50m where it grades into firm clay and continues to the termination depth at 66.00m. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations have been formulated for the safe and cost effective development of this Oil Field.</jats:p